Ice and sleet cutting contact-shoes.



No 867.358. PATENTED OCT. 1, 1907.

R. FULLERTON. ICE AND SLBET CUTTING CONTACT SHOE.

APPLICATION IILBD MAR 13) 1907.

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Quorum No 867,358 I PATENTED OCT. 1, 1907.

R. FULLERTON. ICE AND SLEET CUTTING CONTACT SHOE.

'AP-PLIOATION I'ILED M13 13, 1907- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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W1 11 eases RUTHERFORD FULLERTON, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

ICE AND SLEET CUTTING CONTACT-SHOES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 1, 1907.

Application filed March 13, 1907- Serial No. 362,154.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RUTHERFORD FULLERTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ice and Sleet Cutting Contact-Shoes, of which the following is a specification. My invention relates to ice and sleet cutters for third rail electric cars and has for its object the provision of a device of this character constructed in such manner as to maintain an efficient electrical contact with the third rail and at the same time out sleet and ice from said third rail.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a device adapted to accomplish the foregoing objects and constructed in such manner that it may be swung away from the third rail and folded up against its supporting beam when not in use.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which now follows.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device, Fig. 2 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation of the device, and, Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of a swinging supporting plate hereinafter described.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 5 designates a beam which is supported by brackets 6 from one of the trucks of a car. U-shaped yokes 7 surround this beam and the upper ends of said yokes are threaded as at 8 for the reception of nuts 9, said nuts when screwed down against cross bars 10, serving to draw the lower parts of the yokes upwardly and to bind to the lower face of the bar 5-a bracket 11, said bracket having offset portions 12 which pass through the yokes in order to accomplish this object. The bracket 11 is provided with ears '13 and between these ears swinging supporting plates 14 and 15 are pivoted upon a rod 16, said rod being held in position by linch pins 17. The detailed construction of these plates has been illustrated in Fig. 3, the two plates being alike. These plates are provided with an offset L-shaped arm 18. By referring to Fig. 3, it will be seen that these plates have their under faces channeled as at 19 and are slotted as at 20. Upstanding cars 21 are formed upon the plates adja cent the ends of the slots 20. Rearwardly extending tongues 22 are adapted to contact with the under face of the bracket 11 to limit the downward movement of the arms 14 and 15. Contacting and cutting bars 23 are secured in the channels 19 by bolts 24 and nuts 25.

T bolts 26 are adapted to lie in the slots 20 and to engage over the lugs 21. Springs 27 engage the lower ends of these bolts 26, the opposite ends of said springs being secured at 28 to 2. depending portion of the bracket 11. The free end 23 of the contacting and cutting arm that is carried by the plate 14, projects forwardly, while the free end 23 of the contacting and cutting arm that is carried by the plate 15 projects rearwardly, said arms engaging and riding upon the outer edge of the current carrying rail 29 as is best illustrated in Fig. 2. Pivoted between the L-shaped extension 18 and the sides of the plates 14 and 15, are swinging arms 30. A pin 31 passes through an opening 32 in said extension and into an opening 33 formed in the plates to pivot these arms in place. A pin 34 holds the pin 31 against displacement. Contacting and cutting arms 35 are secured by bolts 36 to the arms 30 and these contacting and cutting arms have angularly extending ends 37 which ride upon the inner edge of the current carrying rail.

Springs 38 are secured at 39 to the upper end of the arms 30 and at 40 to lugs which are carried by the plate 15. The ordinary contact shoe has been indicated at 41 and the cable which ordinarily conducts current from the contact shoe to the motor of the car, has been indicated at 42. A chain 43 which has a snap hook 44 at one end is adapted to hold the device in an elevated position as will be hereinafter described.

The operation of the device is as follows: Ordinarily the current is conveyed from the rail 29 to the motor through the shoe 41 and the cable 42. When the rail 29 becomes coated with sleet, however, it is impossible to secure an eflicient contact therewith when the flat faced shoe 41 is employed. When the rail is thus coated with sleet the shoe 41 is elevated as is illustrated in full lines in Fig. 1, so that the contact face 41 of the shoe is out of contact with the rail, it being understood that the operative position of the shoe has been illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The contacting and cutting arms are then brought into the position illustrated in Fig. 2, at which time the springs 27 tend to swing the plates 14 and 15 downwardly and consequently hold the portions 23 and 23 of the contact arms 23 into engagement with the outer edges of the rail. At the same time, the spring 38 serves to hold the portions 37 of the arms 35 into engagement with the inner edge of the rail. These arms serve to cut the ice and sleet from the rail and at the same time form an efficient electrical contact With said rail. A current conductor 45 leads from the bracket 11 to the binding post 46 of the shoe 41, so that the current then flows from the bracket 11 to and through said binding post to the conductor 42 and consequently to the motor.

When the rail is not sleet or ice covered, the bolts 26 are lifted by engaging a suitable tool, not shown, in openings 26 formed in the 'l-heads of said bolts. Said bolts are then drawn from over the lugs 21, thereby disengaging the springs 27 from the plates 14 and 15. These plates and the parts carried thereby, may then be swung up against the outer face of the beam 5 and the chain 43 may be passed across the outside of these parts to hold them in an elevated position, the arms and being first removed.

It has been l'ound that the contacting and cutting arms herein shown-and described, form an eflicient electrical connection with the current carrying rail and effectively remove the sleet and ice therefrom, being in this respect much superior to devices which scrape over the top of the rail, for any ice or sleet dislodged at the edge of the rail will immediately fall from the rail, while ice or sleet dislodged upon the top of the rail still lies upon the rail and prevents proper contact therewith.

From the foregoingdescription, it will be seen that simple and eflicientmeans are herein provided for accomplishing the objects of the invention, but while the elements shown and described are well adapted to serve the purposes for which they are intended, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction set forth, but includes within its purview such changes as may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim, is:

1. In a device of the character, described, a cutting member which extends across the rail at an angle thereto and engages with said rail along its edge, and springs for drawing said member into engagement with the edge of the rail.

2. In a device of the character described, ice cutting members which lie across the rail at an angle thereto and which engage with said rail at its edges, and springs for drawing said members into engagement with the edges of the rail.

3. In a device of the character described. the eomhina tion with a supporting member of a swinging plate carried by said supporting member, and a cutting and contacting arm carried by said swinging plate which engages the edge of a current carrying rail, and means for drawing said last named arm into engagement with the rail.

-i. In a device of the character described, the combination with a supporting member, 01' swinging plates pivoted to said supporting member, arms carried by said swinging plates which engage both of the upcr edges of the rail, and means for drawing said arms into engagement with the edges of said rail.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination with a current carrying rail, of a contact member which engages with said rail only along its upper edge, said contact member being adapted to remove the ice and sleet from said rail, and a current conductor connected to said contact member.

In testimony whereof I atlix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RUTHERFORD FULLERTON.

Witnesses:

A. L. PIlnLrs, L. Cami S'roUGn'roN. 

